B.Tech. (Honours) in ICT with minor in Computational Science

DA-IICT launched the unique four-year undergraduate program leading to the degree of B.Tech. (Honours) in ICT with minor in CS from 2013-14 academic session. DA-IICT is the first institute in the country to design and offer teaching program in the area of Computational Science at undergraduate level.

The ICT embodies the convergence of Computer and Communication systems and has obtained wide acceptance as a distinct discipline. It is also expected that ICT graduates would enjoy a special niche only if they have certain performance capabilities not found in conventional CSE and/or ECE graduates. Logically this convergence takes place at the systems level, but at the same time it is necessary to accept a certain level of granularity as one goes down to the level of circuits, devices and materials. In other words, given the four-year span of a B.Tech. Program, there has to be a trade-off between the breadth demanded by comprehension at the systems level and the depth desired by scientific understanding of the fundamentals.

Computational science involves use of mathematical models, numerical methods, quantitative analysis techniques, advanced computing capabilities and IT knowledge to understand and solve complex science, engineering and social problems aimed in improving products, processes, and work-flows. DA-IICT started this program in the area of Computational Science to impart the necessary knowledge and insight to the students to build computational models to understand, analyze and address fundamental problems in the areas of societal importance.

The minor in CS program is focused on two main lines – theoretical learning and practical implementation. The students must take core/group-elective courses in the areas of Mathematics, Physics, Numerical and Computational Methods, Modeling and Simulation, High Performance Computing, Parallel Programming, Data analysis and Visualization. The electives are further designed to sharpen this skill-set by providing domain knowledge in interdisciplinary areas ranging from engineering to biological applications.

The B.Tech.(ICT) and B.Tech.(Honours) in ICT with minor in CS programs are designed to operate on a semester-based credit system. Each course is associated with a fixed number of credits. Credits (C) are assigned on an L-T-P-C system, i.e., the number of hours required for Lectures (L), Tutorials (T) and Practicals (P) in a week. For both the degrees, the students are required to complete the prescribed curriculum in a minimum of four years.

The minor in CS provides an opportunity to pursue a focused set of courses that emphasize all main aspects of Computational Science. The program has significant research and development components as part of the course structure. The minor requires extra core credits (compulsory core courses and electives from the list given below) in addition to what an ICT undergraduate takes.

Course Structure

The course structure of the curriculum is broadly classified into 3 categories.

Foundation Courses: These are a set of compulsory/core courses required to be taken by every student enrolled in the program. Majority of foundation courses are offered in the first five semesters. These courses are from the technical areas of Computer Science and Information Technology (8 courses), Electronics and Communication (8 courses), Computational Science (4 courses) as well as courses in Humanities and Social Sciences (4 courses), Mathematics and Basic Sciences (8 courses). A student earns 129 credits from these 28 Foundation courses.

Electives Courses: Courses of this category add to both the technical strength and humanities and social science skills of the students belonging to this program. The curriculum provides students a multi-track option, where a student can acquire knowledge in breadth as well as depth in multiple tracks through an appropriate choice of elective courses. These electives are grouped in the following four types:

ICT Electives

Technical Electives

Science Electives

Open Electives

The ICT electives provide expertise in courses which have components of computer systems and communication tracks; the Technical electives primarily provide expertise in some particular track; the Science electives provide expertise in basic sciences; and the Open electives belong to humanities, social sciences and management courses. A student is expected to earn 41 credits from these four types of electives (9-17 credits are allocated to ICT electives, 12-20 credits to Technical electives, 6-12 credits to Science electives, and 6-9 credits to Open electives), which might be taken according to the inclination and interest of the student. Furthermore, the electives should be chosen in such a way that at least 2 ICT electives, 2 science electives and 3 technical electives are from the pool of computational science electives listed below separately as CS Electives.

Internships and B.Tech. project (BTP): A unique feature of the programs is the mandatory rural internship, which is expected to give the student a feel of his/her social milieu and is typically carried out with an NGO working in/for a rural setup. Its duration is of 3-4 weeks in the winter vacation falling after 3rd semester. After the completion of foundation courses, the student is required to take a 6-8 week Industrial/Research Internship. The student has a choice of taking an industrial internship or a research internship depending on his/her career goals. It is scheduled in the summer vacation falling after 6thsemester. Finally, the student is required to take a B.Tech. Project, during which he/she is required to demonstrate his/her ability to learn current areas of research and/or industrial interest, his/her ability to utilize the topics he/she has learned during his/her stint in the program and his/her creative and design abilities. Usually, this is done in the final semester, but it may be taken as a split BTP starting in 7th semester and concluding in the 8th semester.